Trolley head



A ril 2a), 1926. 1,581,116

1 L. HARFEIE:

TROLLEY HEAD Filed July 22, 1925 Qwvmtoz LZIWHENC'E 125M515 VJAM Z MAW.

Patented Apr. 29, 1926.

UNi'TE' LAWRENCE HARRIS, F LA'IROBE, EENNSYLVANIA.

TROLLEY HEAD.

Application filed July 22,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LAWRENCE Haunts, a citizen of the United States, residing in Latrobe, in the county of VVestmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolley Heads, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the operation of trolley cars in which the overhead system of current supply is employed, the current being taken from an overhead feedwire and conveyed to the car motors by means ofsuitable conductors secured to jointed, spring actuated members disposed in a generally upward direction and provided with means for insuring contact with the current feed wire.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a new and improved pole head designed to prevent the current collector or trolley wheel from leaving the feed wire and escaping from the yoke.

Another object is in the provision of means whereby a trolley pole head, normally closed about a feed wire, may be opened by a simple manual effect to permit the lowering of the trolley head when desired.

A further object is to provide a simple and efficient means whereby a spring controlled trolley head will automatically open upon contact with the feed wire hangers as at crossovers and other points of support.

These and other like objects will become apparent in the course of the following description of the elements, arrangement of parts and the principles constituting the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein I have illustrated the various parts of my invention,

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a trolley made in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a partial front elevational view of the same.

Figure 3 is a plan View showing the peculiar conformation of wire guard members.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the numeral designates the roof line of a conventional trolley car on which a base plate 11 is secured to the roof and a secondary plate 12, adapted to rotate upon the base plate, is provided with a piv- 1925. Serial No. 15,183.

otal element 13 rotatable within the base forming thereby a manually operable turntable unit of commercial type.

A pole lat constructed of non-conductive material as wood, fibre or suitable composition is secured hingedly by a pin 15 passing transversely through the lower of the pole l land the turntable top 12 and is provided with a spring 16 for maintaining. the pole in a generally upright position, the spring, being secured to the pole and turn table by eye bolts 17 and 18 respectively.

Near the upper end of the pole is a widened portion 19 having formed therethrough a rectangular opening 20 adapted to receive a trolley head comprising a forked structure having projecting elements 21 and 22, and a lower portion 23 of reduced proportion hingedly engaged within the opening 20 of the pole 14 by the hinge pin 2 1 passing transversely therethrough.

Opposed springs 25 and 26 secured by bolts 27, 28, 29 and 30 are provided for maintaining the head member in normal vertical position.

A hinged yoke or guide comprising arcuately curved members 31 and 32 are disposed between the forked elements 21' and 22, the member 31 being rigidly secured to the fork element 22 by screws 33 and the adjacent yoke element 32 is hingedly engaged at its lower extremity with the yoke element 31 by the hinge pin 34 thus permitting the upper ends of the yoke to be opened and closed.

Referring particularly to Figure 2 it will be seen that the upper end portions of the yoke are of different curvature, that of the element 31 being shorter at the upper portion than that of element 32, the purpose being to make the point of opening offset with respect to a center line passing through the hinge pin 34.

A shaft 35 is rotatably engaged in suitable bearings provided in the forked elements 21 and 22, and passing transversely through openings formed in the yoke members 31 and 32 has secured thereon a trolley wheel 36 disposed within the space formed by the curvatures of the yoke members.

To insure closing of the yoke 'members, a

compression spring 37 is interposed betweenthe yoke members 32 and the fork element 21, pins 38 preventing the spring from accidental displacement.

A rope 39 is attached to an eye bolt 4.0

fixed at the upper end of the yoke member 32 and is threaded downwardly through eye bolts 41 and 42 secured in the fork element 21.

By reference to Figure 3, it will be seen that the yoke members 31 and 82 are cut away at the corners 43 and ll thus permitting Obstructions on the feed wire 45 to readily open the yoke and pass freely without shock through the trolley head.

Referring again to Figure 2 it will be seen that the feed wire to in contact with the trolley wheel by the yoke members '31 and 32 when in normal operative position and that the feed wire in the event of being displaced from the pulley will be guided or compelled to fall back into the pulley groove by the curved conformation of the yoke members.

It will also be seen that the yoke will automatically open and close in passing feed wire hangers without danger of the wire escaping from the yoke, and that the yoke may be readily opened and the wire released therefrom when it is desired to reverse the rolley pole, also because of the offset position of the yoke elements, the wire can be readily caught and directed into its normal position in the pulley groove.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A trolley head having a sectional support, composed of an upper and lower member, means permitting the rotation of said support, a forked head on said upper member, tension springs normally retaining the upper member upright, a leaf member hinged to swing laterally between the forked 36 is completely enclosed elements of said head, a trolley wheel rotatable in the head between the forked member, and means to swing said leaf member away from said wheel.

2. A trolley head comprising a fork having an offset stem, means for supporting said stein in a normally upright position, a spindle mounted transversely in the fork, a trolley wheel rotatable thereon, a fixed guide interjacent one of the members of said fork, a hinged guide interjacent the other member, said guides normally enveloping the wheel, and means for manually tilting said hinged guide away from the wheel.

8. A trolley head for use with an overhead wire comprising a stem, a support in which said head is hingedly mounted, tension springs arranged to normally retain said stem erect, an offset fork on said stem, a spindle mounted in the elements of said fork, a pulley rotatable on said spindle, a guide fixed on the inner side of one of the fork members, said guide having a part extending above the periphery of the pulley, a second guide hinged between the members of said fork on the opposite side of the pulley, said second guide having a part extending over the periphery of the pulley to contact with the first named guide, resilient means for making such contact, and means for swinging the last named guide away from said pulley to permit the passage of a wire, said guides each having their upper ends shaped to automatically permit the passage of a wire support.

In testimony vwhereof I have signed my name to this application.

LAXVRENCE HARRIS. 

